Bob, Celia Converse (who helps us book our fabulous guests) and producer Ariana Pekary celebrate Bob’s Gaudium Award.
Last month, Bob received the Gaudium Award from the Breukelein Institute which seeks to honor people whose lives have “illumined the horizon of human experience." The word Gaudium is derived from the Latin word for “joy." When Bob’s friend Bobbie Ann Mason heard the news she said, “They are giving YOU an award for joy?” The Breukelein Institute, though non-religious and not-for-profit in structure, traces its origins to St. Philip Neri (1515-1595) called the Saint of Joy. The list of past honorees is not too shabby; Bob is in good company: Emma Bombeck, Dave Brubeck, Agnes de Mille, Marian Wright Edelman, Father Robert Drinan, Mr. Rogers, Maurice Sendak, and Eudora Welty are just a few of their past recipients. Bob and producer Ariana Pekary attended the awards dinner in New York City which was a benefit for inner-city scholarship programs, homelessness projects on the Lower East Side and musical performance groups throughout New York. The highlight of the evening was a note sent over from Bill Moyers:
When Bob Edwards signed off for the last time as anchor of NPR’s MORNING
EDITION, I didn’t think I would ever want to get out of bed again. The
world threatened to be so strangely empty that I couldn’t face it on my
own. Fortunately, my grandchildren finally taught me where to find
satellite radio, and once again Bob’s my companion through the trials
and tribulations of the week. The interviews he conducts sprinkle a
world of woe with signs of hope. Given what has happened to journalism
in this tabloid age, I am often reminded of the marvelous speech Bob
made in his native state of Kentucky some years ago. He quoted a
high-class hooker known as the Mayflower Madam, who said: "I was in the
wrong business. But I did it with dignity." Bob Edwards has made me
proud to be a colleague in a field that both of us consider a calling
and for which he has set the highest of standards for all of us who look
up to him.
Andy Danyo
I felt just like Bill Moyers did, when Bob left NPR. I had listened to Bob Edwards for so many years, starting with the very first Morning Edition show in the 70’s. I feel so lucky to be able to hear him now. The only reason I signed up for XM radio was to continue to hear his interviews. I love my XM, and I love to listen to your show. Thank you, Bob!